


the sight of stars (makes me dream)

by emiliaslibrary



Series: ad aspera per astra [1]
Category: A Court of Thorns and Roses Series - Sarah J. Maas
Genre: Canon Rewrite, Comfort, F/M, How Do I Tag, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, Minor Feyre Archeron/Rhysand, No Angst, POV Feyre Archeron, Pre-Book 3: A Court of Wings and Ruin, The Court of Dreams (ACoTaR), What-If, azriel my bby, what if rhysand had a twin sister?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-07
Updated: 2021-01-07
Packaged: 2021-03-18 00:08:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,329
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28608819
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/emiliaslibrary/pseuds/emiliaslibrary
Summary: If Rhysand was the most beautiful male I'd ever seen, she was his female equivalent.Her dark as night hair was loose around her shoulders, and her clothes reflected her court—completely black and styled in a similar fashion to my own. The only color that could be seen on her came from her eyes, which were startlingly similar to the High Lord in front of me."Hello, lovely," she purred, her full lips parting with a dazzling smile as those violet eyes swept over me."Feyre," Rhys said smoothly, "meet my twin sister, Eliana. Elle, meet the lovely, charming, and open-minded Feyre."Or,What if Rhysand had a twin sister?
Relationships: Azriel (ACoTaR)/Original Female Character(s), Feyre Archeron & Morrigan, Feyre Archeron & Original Female Character(s), Feyre Archeron & Rhysand, Feyre Archeron/Rhysand
Series: ad aspera per astra [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2096289
Comments: 7
Kudos: 34





	the sight of stars (makes me dream)

The female from before—Eliana, Rhys’s sister— was standing in the doorway of the balcony. Two winged males stood close behind her. All three . . .

Grinning.

Rhys sauntered toward them, giving me the option to stay or join.

One word, he’d promised, and we could go.

All three had their wings on display. The two on either side of Eliana had theirs tucked in tight to muscled bodies, while hers appeared to be more relaxed. Dark splotches that framed the sides of her body. Eliana was far more lithe than the two males, but there was no doubt that she was just as powerful in her own right. She did not wear the same plated, dark leather that they did. The dress she wore, though it was of a finer make than the armor, was no less a weapon than the twin longswords strapped down the column of the males' spines. Rhys’s sister was devastatingly beautiful, and it seemed as if the male on the right was not oblivious to it. His eyes tracked her as she stepped towards me.

Eliana was the first to speak, her hands reaching for mine and a light smile on her lips, “Feyre, welcome. Don’t mind the brutes behind me. They’re just happy to see a new face.”

The slightly larger of the two, still in the shadow of the doorway, chuckled and said, “Come on, Feyre. We don’t bite. Unless you ask us to.”

Surprise coursed through me, my feet moving on their own accord to follow Elle forward.

She jutted her chin out at the male. “Cassian, there has not been one person to take you up on that offer. Brother, control your dog.”

The second one snorted, the faces of both males becoming visible as they turned toward the golden light of the dining room, and I honestly wondered why no one hadn’t. If the twins’ mother had also been Illyrian, it was obvious that its people were gifted with unnatural good looks. The four people in front of me were similar in that they were all dark-haired and tan, but their similarities ended there. Unlike Rhys and his sister, the warriors eyes were hazel and fixed on me as I finally stepped close.

“You know I cannot control Cassian any more than Azriel can control you, sister,” Rhys drawled, sliding his hands into his pockets.

Eliana’s eyes found the ceiling. She looked closely at me before glancing at males beside us. A corner of her mouth lifting in a teasing manner as she murmured, “So dressed down tonight, boys. Are you preparing for a battle at the dining table?”

“I wasn’t aware that there was a dress code, Elle. Our brother even made poor Feyre dress up.” Cassian winked at me. His features were rough-hewn—like he’d been carved from stone by wind and rain and flame. The gods were not gentle when they sculpted him.

But the second male, he was more classically beautiful . . . Even that golden light from the House shied away from the elegant plains of his face. Beautiful, but near unreadable. He’d be the one to watch—a subtle knife in the dark. Indeed, a hunting knife was sheathed at his side, its obsidian hilt and dark scabbard lined with silver runes I couldn’t recognize.

Rhys said, “This is Azriel—my spymaster.” Not a surprise. That quiet aura, that unnatural stillness that he possessed . . . I checked my mental shields subconsciously.

Though Eliana was not short, she had to press up onto her toes to reach Azriel’s face. Quickly, she pressed a kiss to his cheek, and that unreadable mask cracked slightly as he peered at her, those shadows lightened. She looked to me and beamed. “And my beloved.”

“Welcome,” was all Azriel said, though his hand brushed her cheek and his lip twitched up in response to Elle's endearment. That hand extended to me, and it was then that I noticed the brutal scarring. Burn scars. It must have been horrific if even that immortal blood had not been able to heal it fully. All of his hand wasn’t fully visible. A large, cobalt stone sat in the middle of the gauntlet that was an extension of his plated armor. A matching one graced his left hand as well; and Cassian had a pair atop his own gauntlets, their color like the slumbering heart of a flame.

I took Azriel’s hand, and his rough fingers squeezed mine. His skin was as frigid as his face.

The word Cassian had used only a moment ago snagged my attention as I released his hand and tried not to step back too quickly. After a quick glance at Eliana and Azriel, “You’re brothers?”

It was Eliana’s turn to snort, but Rhysand clarified, “Brothers in the sense that all bastards are brothers of a sort.”

Eliana flicked her hair over her shoulder. She seemed the type to always have a teasing comment on the edge of her tongue. “Truly, Feyre? You think I would claim a brother of mine as ‘my beloved’?”

My face heated. “I . . . No, it slipped my mi-” I halted as Eliana winked at me and grabbed Azriel’s hand to lead him inside. “And—you?”

Cassian shrugged, wings ruffling as we followed slowly. “I command Rhy’s armies.”

As though the position was not something of note. And—armies. Rhys had armies. I shifted on my feet unconsciously, only realizing when Cassian’s eyes tracked the movement, his mouth twitched up to the side. I thought he was going to give his professional opinion on it when Azriel clarified, “Cassian also excels at pissing everyone off. Especially amongst our friends. So, as a friend of Rhysand . . . I wish you luck.”

Eliana did not turn before adding, “Feyre does not need luck. I would offer her to protect her from Cassian myself if I did not think that she was capable of putting him down.”

Cassian only nudged his bastard-sister-whatever, her wings flaring slightly as she regained her balance.

* * *

There was a lull in conversation as we took the time to finish dinner. The Court of Nightmares . . . that name did not fit the people in the House.

“And what is this court?” I asked, gesturing to the people seated around me. The most important question.

It was Eliana, eyes bright and full of happiness, who said, “The Court of Dreams.”

The Court of Dreams—the dreams of a half-breed High Lord, two bastard warriors, and . . . the three females. The males had explained their stories . . . but the other three people at the table were still unknown. “And you?” I said to those same women.

Amren merely said, “Rhys offered to make me his Second. No one had ever asked me before, so I agreed. It was only to see what it was like. I found I enjoyed it.”

Eliana had moved forward, putting her elbow on the table and her head on her hand. She told me, “Even as the twin to the future High Lord, I was not . . . important in the eyes of the Court. The fate of being a woman, apparently. It made no difference that my brother and I shared the same power, did not matter that I was born a minute before him. So, Rhys made me his Third, a duty that I share with Mor, and I made sure that those that doubted me would not forget my name.”

“You share your duties?” I drank slowly from my cup.

“Mmhmm, in a sense. Truly, we share the title only. Our duties are similar, though. She handles internal relations with the Court of Nightmares, while I deal with external relations with the other Courts. Az and I work together a good bit on that side of things.” Eliana slid back in her chair, allowing one hand to curl around her glass of wine and the other lay atop Azriel’s own hand. She looked to Mor.

Mor leaned back in her seat and said, “I was a dreamer born into the Court of Nightmares.” She twirled a golden curl around her finger, and I wondered if her story was the worst of all of them as she said simply, “So I got out.”

Cassian asked of my own story, so I straightened and told them of it. They were quiet at the end. Azriel’s gaze now considering. He had not shared his own story, I noted. Was it not spoke of?

Cassian cut off my thought process, “You taught yourself how to hunt. What about to fight?” I shook my head. “Lucky for you, you’ve just found yourself an instructor.”

I opened my mouth to protest, but— these new powers. They needed to be trained. I would never again allow myself to be helpless. But what Ianthe and Tamlin had said . . . “Would it not send a bad message if people see me using weapons—learning how to fight?” Even as I said the words, I realized how stupid they sounded. Stupid. How stupid I had been to allow myself to believe it for these past few months.

Silence. Then Eliana said with a soft venom that reminded me that she, too, wielded the power of a High Lord. And that she was one in all but title. “Let me tell you two things, as someone who has been in your shoes before. One, you have left the Spring Court. If that is not a message in and of itself, your training will not be one either. Two,” she continued, bracing a hand flat on the table, “I was made to fit into a mold once. Delicate and pure, this little princess was. And I conformed, as if the opinions of others mattered. So trust me, Feyre, when I say that you can say to hell with reputation, and you make no apologies for what you need to do.”

Mor added softly, “You do what you love, what you need.” And I knew. They would not tell me to wear or not to wear. These females . . . I would speak for myself. They would not do as I had so willingly allowed Ianthe to do.

I had never had a female friend before. Ianthe had not been a friend. Not really. And Elain and Nesta, they had never truly been there, either. But as I looked at Elle and Mor . . . I couldn’t explain it, couldn’t put this feeling into words but . . . but I felt it. They were true. They were family. I glanced around the table, meeting the eyes of each and every person. They never faltered in that gaze. Not one.

The Court of Dreams, truly.

* * *

The breeze on my face was chilly enough to make my toes curl. There was so much to learn about this city, about these people. This Inner Circle of Rhys’—each had a rich history, a lot of it nasty enough to make my head spin. My hands brushed the railing of the balcony as a presence came slowly up beside me.

“We enjoyed spending time with you tonight, Feyre. I’m glad you decided to join us.” Eliana leaned casually against the same railing my hands rested on. Her dark hair was swept up, exposing an elegant neck. “We do this often—this getting together at the House of Wind. Normally, the dress code is whatever you please, so next time don’t worry about getting dressed up if you don’t fancy doing so.”

“I enjoyed it very much,” Glancing back into the dining room, I saw Rhys conversing with Azriel and Cassian, “So . . . you and Azriel?”

Eliana looked very pleased as she followed my gaze. Her eyes dilated as she observed the sight before us, and her shoulders loosened before she spoke, “There was never anybody else for me.”

“Truly?”

“I’ve had lovers before Az, sure. But I knew when I met him that we were each others. He is the only one I’ve ever loved, the start and end for me.” A color stained her voice. It reminded me of myself when Tamlin was everything to me. The start and end—what a glorious feeling that must be, to be so sure in love with another person. I told her the same.

“It’s terrifying at times. I will love him until the stars turn to dust and these mountains turn to rubble. Even then.” Eliana’s eyes had turned to meet mine. Her voice carried through the night, but it did not seem intentionally forceful. Her passion was in the wind, proclaiming itself to everybody and no one. She closed her eyes, nostrils flaring as she took a breath of sobriety. When they opened again, there was a gentle ferocity housed inside the violet.

“There was a time,” she continued, “when I thought that I was undeserving of such a love—that I would be stuck searching for absolution in bodies and booze. It was Azriel that showed me that heartbeats do not have to be earned, Feyre. There is no force, in this broken world, that we owe explanation to for choosing to keep breathing.” Her face was flushed by the intensity of the words; though, her voice never wavered from a firm quietness.

And my heart broke.

Finally, finally, finally. The dam finally broke. Silver lined my eyes, and it was not a moment before it trickled down my cheeks, too. Elle reached for me, giving me enough time to step back, before folding me in close to her. Warmth curling in my chest, in my fingers, lining the sinews of my legs. These people in this family had made choices—horrible choices, sometimes. And they were still standing, still loving each other. There was no standard of perfection to be held too . . . there was no apologies to be made for saving yourself. For the first time since being encased in that house of vines and thorns, I did not feel alone. I was wrapped in the arms of someone who expected nothing . . . who demanded nothing of me.

It was liberating.

**Author's Note:**

> hello loves!
> 
> first of all, disclaimer!! this oneshot is very, very, very heavy with lines straight from A Court of Mist and Fury. with that said, i claim no ownership over the characters or parts of the story you recognize directly from Chapter 16. the only part that isn't ripe with lines from the book is the last section with Feyre & Elle. all belongs to sarah j maas.
> 
> okay, great! with that out of the way, i hope that you've all enjoyed this! i wanted to give Rhys a twin sister who was in love with Az for a hot minute. tonight i just couldn't sleep without getting this out of my head. i planned on making this a series, but i wanted to keep the introduction of Feyre to the inner circle the same which is why a lot of this is straight from the book. the other parts of this series will be more original. 
> 
> alrightly! bye for now, guys, gals, & nonbinary folks :)


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